HYDERABAD: Assuring people that rice stocks were sufficient for the next 12 months, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy warned of a possible water shortage and urged farmers to plan their crops accordingly.
Addressing a public meeting at Lagacharla on Monday after laying foundation stones for development works worth
`9,053 crore in Kodangal constituency, Revanth announced that the government would launch the Praja Balam programme after Sankranti. He said he would tour the state as part of the initiative.
Urging farmers to take up only ID crops during the Rabi season, Revanth said the Praja Balam programme is aimed at helping the state overcome the El Nino crisis.
He assured people that there was no shortage of rice, with stocks sufficient for the next 12 months. Revanth announced that 3.5 crore of the state’s four crore population would receive fine variety rice through the public distribution system and would remain unaffected by rising open market prices.
Claiming that he had worked every day without taking leave over the past three years, the Chief Minister said he had put the State’s economy back on track. He alleged that the previous BRS government had been unable to pay government employees’ salaries on the first of every month.
Praising Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Bhatti Vikramarka for his commitment, Revanth said he had entrusted him with the Finance portfolio because he expected him to work with the same dedication as former Finance Minister K Rosaiah.
The government was now paying salaries on the first of every month, he said. The chief minister added that the state was spending `80,000 crore annually towards servicing debts raised by the previous BRS government and had spent more than `2 lakh crore over the past three years on these liabilities.
Criticising BRS leadership, Revanth questioned party chief K Chandrasekhar Rao’s absence from the Assembly session and took a dig at working president KT Rama Rao, saying that growing a beard would not make him his equal.
Noting the chief minister’s development plans, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka said Revanth was implementing a comprehensive plan to transform Kodangal into a major industrial, educational and healthcare hub while steering the historically backward Palamuru region towards progress.
He said the initiatives would lay a strong foundation for development across industrial, educational, healthcare and irrigation sectors, creating employment and livelihood opportunities for lakhs of young people in the coming years. Bhatti lauded the chief minister for preparing a development roadmap not just for his home constituency but also for ensuring lasting prosperity and better opportunities for future generations.
On irrigation, Vikramarka said the government aimed to provide water to nearly one lakh acres through the Makthal-Narayanpet-Kodangal Lift Irrigation Project by lifting water from the Krishna river through the Jurala region.
Supporting the push to transform Kodangal, IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu said the chief minister was converting Kodangal into a model Assembly constituency through various development initiatives.
Expressing confidence in the Congress’s electoral prospects, PCC chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud said the party would win 100 Assembly seats in the next elections, citing the government’s welfare schemes.
He also said the Congress would return to power at the Centre and Rahul Gandhi would become the next Prime Minister.